comicbookGRRRLDo not offend the chair leg of truth; it is wise and terrible.

In 2011 and in its debut year, Mark Millar's Kapow! Comic Con was referred to as the Sausage-Fest Con due to the entire guest line-up being male. After fans started complaining noisily online, two women guests were subsequently added to the event.

This year it seems history is doomed to repeat itself, with 40 comic industry guests now announced, and no women to be seen. Unlike the larger London MCM Expo the following week, Kapow! is focused very much on superhero comics, and the argument is that while there are women working in comics in the UK, they are working in indie and non-mainstream comics (ie not DC, Marvel or 2000 AD).

[ETA 15/2/12 - women guests (plural!) are attending both Kapow! and the London Super Comic Con - more details here!]

I chatted with Mark Millar (and Gail Simone) on twitter to see what he thought, and I would love to hear from the male guests who are attending and the female non-guests too!

Mark Millar was as outspoken as ever at the first comics convention in his home city in fifteen years: the sold out Glasgow Comic Con. After a busy day of signings, portfolio showcases and browsing the indies, Millar fielded questions about the DC reboot ("massive desperation"), the reductive nature of comics, and the thorny issue of women in comics. Plus his tongue in cheek comparison of the new JLA cover to a bad botox job.

Mark Millar was speaking on a writers panel alongside Jim Alexander, Emma Beeby, and Gordon Rennie. Glasgow Comic Con also boasted a top artists line-up that included Gary Erskine, David Lloyd, Jon Haward and many more. Frank Quitely was sadly unable to attend due to an ash cloud over his Brazillian location.

Over at The Void, I have a piece on Mark Millar and his upcoming Scottish movie Miracle Park, and his new Kapow! Comic Con:

There’s a fight going down in comic land, as London hosts the battle of the Comic Cons. But with the older, more established London MCM Expo drawing an audience of over 45,000, and Kapow! Comic Con, the new kid on the block, fitting only 3000, why are the big boys so worried?

The answer lies with who is running the young competitor: Mark Millar, creator of Kick-Ass, master of hype. By attacking the larger convention and loudly announcing that Kapow! will offer everything London MCM Expo never has (erm, not really true), he has garnered huge interest in his event and encouraged the opposition to up their game, snagging the upcoming Green Lantern movie as their official sponsor. For the comic fan, it’s a win-win situation.

Millar appeared at the Glasgow Film Festival and I attended the creative workshop that he ran, as well as seeing Dave Gibbons give a talk on his work. Sadly I missed seeing Frank Quitely due to a nasty bug, but my lovely cousin got my copy of We3 signed for me all the same!